Ventilator



7, 1967 P. D. VAN BELLE ETAL 3,302,553

VENTILATOR Filed June 22, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 mm M \ mmmm PEG. 2

INVENTORS.

JOHN F. RANDOLPHQJR.

PAUL D. VAN BELLE BY ATTORNEY 1967 P. D. VAN BELLE ETAL 3,302,551

VENTILATOR Filed June 22, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 PEG. 3

WWW iHHHliliiii IN VENTORS F i G 4 JOHN F. RANDOLPH, JR.

PAUL D. VAN BELLE ATTORNEY 9 P. D. VAN BELLE ETAL 3,302,551

VENTILATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 22, 1964 INVENTORS JOHN F: RANDOLPH, JR. BYPAUL D. VAN BELLE AT TORN E Y United States Patent 3,302,551 VENTILATOR Paul D. Van Belle, and John F. Randolph, Jr., Niles, Mich., assignors to Kool-O-Matic Corporation, Niles, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed June 22, 1964, Ser. No. 376,808 2 Claims. (Cl. 98-43) The present invention relates to ventilators and more particularly to attic and roof ventilators for homes, factories, commercial buildings, and the like.

The conventional ventilator for the attic of homes and similar buildings consists primarily of an opening with a series of louvers, either stationary or pivoted, which permit the air to flow from the attic while preventing rain from entering. These ventilators are often located near the peak of the roof, or in the end of a gable or hip roof, projecting vertically and depending upon convection to produce the flow of air from the attic. Blowers or fans are sometimes used in conjunction with these ventilators, either positioned within or located remote from the ventilator structure. In most installations involving the use of a power blower or fan, the blower or fan is located inside the building structure, occupying much needed space and/or interfering with the normal use of the attic or entrance thereto. Further, the power ventilators are often relatively large and bulky and require substantial alteration of the building structure in order to make an installation. It is therefore one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a compact, relatively simple power ventilator for homes and factories, commercial buildings and the like which can be mounted for effective operation either in the horizontal, inclined or vertical position, and which can be operated effectively either with conventional or with power-driven fans and blowers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a selfcontained power ventilator for homes and the like, which can remain open at all times without permitting rain or snow to enter the building and which can be mounted on the outside surface of the building structure over a single opening in the roof or wall.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an easily installed, versatile and attractive ventilator having a motor and a power-driven blower or fan which are fully enclosed by the ventilator housing, invisible from outside the building regardless of whether or not they are in operation and which can be easily serviced either from inside or outside the building without interfering with the electrical control system therefor.

A further object is to provide a ventilator of the aforesaid type which can be controlled manually or regulated by a thermostatic control and which is ready for operation at all times without opening or closing louvers, doors or other closures therefor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a power ventilator which can be readily installed and effectively operated either as an inside or outside unit, and which can be installed as a temporary or removable unit over an opening, such as the entrance to the attic, or in a window or door.

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the present ventilator;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the ventilator shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view of the ventilator showing a portion broken away to better illustrate the construction of the present ventilator;

3,362,551 Patented Feb. 7, 1967 FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of the ventilator, the section being taken on line 44 of FIG- URE 3, and showing the ventilator with the motor and fan removed;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical cross sectional view of the ventilator, the section being taken on line 5-5 of FIG- URE 4, showing the completely assembled housing, fan and motor therein, together with a control for the electric motor; and

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatical representation of a roof, wall and ceiling structure, illustrating various ways in which the ventilator may be installed.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, and to FIGURES 1 and 5 in particular, numeral 10 designates generally the present ventilator which is adapted primarily for use in ventilating attics, lofts and the like; however, it may be used for a variety of other different purposes where effective power ventilation is required to the atmosphere without permitting rain and snow to enter. The present ventilator can be used for the various applications without altering the structure thereof.

The present ventilator consists basically of a housing 12 and a fan or blower 14 driven by an electric motor 16, fully contained in and supported by housing 12. The housing consists of a base 20 having a radially extending flange 22 for seating on the sheathing of a roof or siding of a wall and mounting the ventilator in place over an opening connected to the space to be ventilated. The base and the neck 24 contain air passage 26 and are connected by an overlapping portion 28 which permits the neck and head portion 30 to be removed from the base for easy and effective servicing of the blower and motor. Both the base 20 and head 30 are generally rectangular in shape, and the interconnecting neck 24 is provided with a flange 32 extending radially outwardly within head 30 and containing a plurality of air openings 34 covered by a screen or mesh 36. The air from the space to be Ventilated flows upwardly through the opening of base 20 and neck 24 and into head 30 and thence through openings 34 to the atmosphere. The inner edge 37 of side walls 38 of head 39 extends beyond flange 32, i.e., toward flange 22 to a point between the flanges to form a shield for openings 34, and since openings 34 face inwardly, i.e. toward the mounting flange 22, and hence toward the roof or wall, they are protected from rain and snow and drifting dirt and grit. To give further protection from water, the free edge of inner edge 37 is preferably provided with a radial flange 39 which prevents water from running over the edge and into openings 34 when the ventilator is mounted on a vertical wall. Further, the position of holes 34 prevents any substantial backflow or drift of air from the atmosphere through the ventilator into the ventilated space.

The fan 14 consists of four blades 40, 42, 44 and 48, each being mounted on hub 50 by radially extending stems 52. .The hub 50 is mounted rigidly on shaft 54 of motor 16, and the motor is mounted in the passage of base 20 by bracket 60 consisting of band 62 clamped to the housing of the motor 16 and having three arms 64, 66 and 68 connecting the band 62 to the upper end of base 20, the arms being joined to the internal side of base 20 by spot welding or any other securing means and rigidly holding the motor in place in the passage of base 20. The motor is controlled by either a manually or thermostatically operated switch of conventional construction mounted in housing 70 and connected to the motor by wires disposed in conduit 72, the switch being operated or set by control 74 on the front of box 70.

In installing the present ventilator on a roof or on the wall adjacent an attic, a hole of a size substantially the same as the opening in base 20 is provided in the wall or roof, and flange 22 is mounted on the wall around the hole and secured in place by nails or screws extending through the flange and through the wall structure or the sheathing of the roof. After the ventilator is installed on the roof or wall, a control switch or thermostat is placed at a convenient location where, if it is a thermostat, it will be responsive to the temperature of the air in the space to be ventilated. After the motor is connected into the electrical circuit, it is operated whenever the temperature rises above a predetermined degree, drawing the air from the space through the opening in base 20 and discharging the air through holes 34 in outwardly extending flange 32. The ventilator may be installed either on the roof or on the external wall and connected to the space to be ventilated by a hole, or it may be mounted over the entrance or other opening in the floor of the attic or space to be ventilated where it operates to draw in the air through passages 26 and discharge the air through openings 34 into the space to be ventilated. The pressure created by the incoming air causes the hot air, in the attic or other space being ventilated, to discharge through conventional ventilators in the roof or walls.

While only one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail herein, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A ventilator for installation on horizontal, inclined and vertical surfaces of roots and walls having a hole connected with the space to be ventilated, comprising a rectangularly shaped base having a radially extending flange and a round center air passage, a neck portion connected to said base and having a round center air passage connected to said first air passage and a radially extending flange with a plurality of openings therein spaced outwardly from the periphery of said neck and inwardly from the periphery of said second mentioned flange, a mesh material covering the holes in said last mentioned flange, said second mentioned flange being connected by an annular curved portion of a relatively large diameter, a rectangularly shaped head member having a top panel and side walls connected to the peripheral edge of said last mentioned flange, the inner edges of said Walls extending toward said first mentioned flange to a point between said flanges to form a shield for the openings in said second mentioned flange, a radially outwardly extending flange on the inner edges of said side walls,

a bladed fan mounted in said last mentioned air passage on a hub on an axis parallel With the axis of said center passages and having the blades intersecting the plane of said second mentioned flange, an electric motor mounted in one of said passages and having a shaft connected to said hub, and a bracket having three radially extending arms connected to said motor and to said base for supporting said fan.

2. A ventilator for installation on horizontal inclined and vertical surfaces of roofs and walls having a hole connected with the space to be ventilated, comprising a rectangularly shaped base having a radially extending flange and a round center air passage, a neck portion connected to said base and having a round center air passage connected to said first air passage and a radially extending flange with a plurality of openings therein spaced outwardly from the periphery of said neck and inwardly from the periphery of said second mentioned flange, a mesh material covering the holes in said last mentioned flange, said second mentioned flange being connected by an annular curved portion of a relatively large diameter, a rectangularly shaped head member having a top panel and side walls connected to the peripheral edge of said last mentioned flange, the inner edges of said Walls extending toward said first mentioned flange to a point between said flanges to form a shield for the openings in said second mentioned flange, a radially outwardly extending flange on the inner edges of said side walls, a fan mounted in one of said air passages on a hub on an axis parallel with the axis of said center passages, a motor mounted in one of said passages and having a shaft connected to said hub, and a bracket connected .to said motor and to said base for supporting said fan.

References Cited-by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,665,625 1/1954 Woodhams 9819 2,805,615 9/1957 Rudy 98116 2,826,136 3/1958 Smith 9842 2,868,105 1/1959 Knutson et a1. 9843 2,875,678 3/1959 Shepherd 98-43 2,988,981 6/1961 Jenn et al 9843 FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Examiner.

C. R. REMKE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A VENTILATOR FOR INSTALLATION ON HORIZONTAL, INCLINED AND VERTICAL SURFACES OF ROOFS AND WALLS HAVING A HOLE CONNECTED WITH THE SPACE TO BE VENTILATED, COMPRISING A RECTANGULARLY SHAPED BASE HAVING A RADIALLY EXTENDING FLANGE AND A ROUND CENTER AIR PASSAGE, A NECK PORTION CONNECTED TO SAID BASE AND HAVING A RADIALLY EXTENDING SAGE CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST AIR PASSAGE AND A RADIALLY EXTENDING FLANGE WITH A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS THEREIN SPACED OUTWARDLY FROM THE PERIPHERY OF SAID NECK AND INWARDLY FROM THE PERIPHERY OF SAID SECOND MENTIONED FLANGE, A MESH MATERIAL COVERING THE HOLES IN SAID LAST MENTIONED FLANGE, SAID SECOND MENTIONED FLANGE BEING CONNECTED BY AN ANNULAR CURVED PORTION OF A RELATIVELY LARGE DIAMETER, A RECTANGULARLY SHAPED HEAD MEMBER HAVING A TOP PANEL AND SAID WALLS CONNECTED TO THE PERIPHERAL EDGE OF SAID LAST MENTIONED FLANGE, THE INNER EDGES OF SAID WALLS EXTENDING TOWARD SAID FIRST MENTIONED FLANGE TO A POINT BETWEEN SAID FLANGES TO FORM A SHIELD FOR THE OPENINGS IN SAID SECOND MENTIONED FLANGE, A RADIALLY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGE ON THE INNER EDGES OF SAID SIDE WALLS, A BLADED FAN MOUNTED IN SAID LAST MENTIONED AIR PASSAGE ON A HUB ON AN AXIS PARALLEL WITH THE AXIS OF SAID CENTER PASSAGES AND HAVING THE BLADES INTERSECTING THE PLANE OF SAID SECOND MENTIONED FLANGE, AN ELECTRIC MOTOR MOUNTED IN ONE OF SAID PASSAGES AND HAVING A SHAFT CONNECTED TO SAID HUB, AND A BRACKET HAVING THREE RADIALLY EXTENDING ARMS CONNECTED TO SAID MOTOR AND TO SAID BASE FOR SUPPORTING SAID FAN. 